League 42 Vandalism

[washedup]

it 's almost as if.........

On their show yesterday, little Lutz asked him about the USA Today article. Bob seemed a little uncomfortable talking about it.

[SubGod22]

ESPN - Rebuilt Jackie Robinson statue to be unveiled Aug. 5

A youth baseball league in Wichita, Kansas, will unveil a new Jackie Robinson statue Aug. 5, replacing the original work that was cut from the base, removed and vandalized earlier this year, Bob Lutz, executive director of League 42, told ESPN on Friday.

Art Castings of Colorado, an art foundry 50 miles outside of Denver, is creating the replacement statue. The artist, John Parsons, died in 2022, but the foundry is using his original mold.

Ricky Alderete, 45, was arrested after the statue went missing in January. He pleaded guilty last month to theft and other charges. He could face more than 19 years behind bars when he's sentenced July 1, the district attorney's office told ESPN.

Using surveillance video, police said at least three people were present when the statue was cut, leaving the bronze replicas of Robinson's cleats behind. The cleats were donated to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. No other arrests have been made.

[SubGod22]

KSN - 'I'm sorry': Wichita man sentenced for theft of Jackie Robinson statue

The man who pleaded guilty to stealing and subsequently destroying the Jackie Robinson statue from League 42 at McAdams Park in January was sentenced by a judge on Friday.

Ricky Alderete was sentenced to a total of 180 months in prison, which equals out to 15 years. He pleaded guilty to one count of each of these charges on May 8:

• Aggravated burglary
• Interfering with law enforcement
• Criminal damage to property
• Aggravated criminal damage to property
• Theft
• Making false information
• Identity theft

At the sentencing, Alderete apologized for his actions to both League 42 and the City of Wichita:

“I let fentanyl take over me, made a lot of poor decisions, I’m not going to deny that,” Alderete said. “I never meant to hurt anybody; that’s not what I wake up every morning and think, ‘I’m going to go out and hurt people,’ that’s not me. I’ve had a drug addiction for a long time, and I’ve never asked for help. Had problems, and the only thing I’ve ever known to run to was drugs.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry to my family. I’m sorry that I’m not there right now. I’m embarrassed. I’m ashamed, and whatever you do to me, I accept it,” he continued.

People get less time for rape and murder.

[SubGod22]

Wyoming Tribune Eagle - Rebuilt bronze Jackie Robinson statue returns to Kansas 6 months after original was stolen

With a rebuilt statue of Jackie Robinson in bronze back in Kansas, some of the late baseball icon’s biggest fans are breathing a sigh of relief.

The original sculpture depicting Robinson resting a bat on his shoulder was cut off at its ankles in January, leaving only Robinson’s cleats behind at McAdams Park in Wichita, home of urban youth baseball League 42.

The statue is not only a piece of art or even just a tribute to the first Black player in Major League Baseball, said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

“That statue had become a symbol: a symbol of hope, a symbol of inspiration, of the core values that were part of Jackie’s legacy. Those were fixtures here in the ballpark,” Kendrick said.

He said that made it difficult to explain the statue’s theft to the 600 children who play in League 42, which was named after Robinson’s uniform with the Brooklyn Dodgers, where Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s racial barrier in 1947. Kendrick and others worried the children might lose faith in humanity.

That is until people from across the country stepped up to help replace it six months after thieves destroyed the original.

“It reminds us that there has always been more good people in this world than bad people,” Kendrick said. “The minute that you’re ready to give up on people, what happens? The good people in this case literally stepped up to the plate. And it renews your faith in people.”

[Kung Wu]

KSN - 'I'm sorry': Wichita man sentenced for theft of Jackie Robinson statue



People get less time for rape and murder.

15 years?! Wow.

[1972Shocker]

Not very many do. There is not much rehabilitation going on in Kansas prisons. But there is a lot of drugs and other contraband.

[ShockerDropOut]

There was a nice shout out to League 42 on the Royal broadcast. Bob Kendrick of the Negro Leagues Museum attended the unveiling of the new statue. As an aside, if you haven't taken the time to visit the Negro Leagues Museum in KC, it is well worth the short drive.

[1972Shocker]

There was a nice shout out to League 42 on the Royal broadcast. Bob Kendrick of the Negro Leagues Museum attended the unveiling of the new statue. As an aside, if you haven't taken the time to visit the Negro Leagues Museum in KC, it is well worth the short drive.

Not the greatest part of town and that probably hurts this Museum's attendance numbers. But my wife and I visited in November 2009 when we were in KC for the Sprint Center games against Pittsburgh and Iowa. We enjoyed that very much. I totally agree that it is well worth a visit.

[WstateU]

Not the greatest part of town and that probably hurts this Museum's attendance numbers. But my wife and I visited in November 2009 when we were in KC for the Sprint Center games against Pittsburgh and Iowa. We enjoyed that very much. I totally agree that it is well worth a visit.

We visited during the same tournament… an outstanding museum.